Buemi will be the only rookie on the grid in Melbourne on March 29 (LAT)
Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi shrugged off the pressure of being Formula One's only rookie driver after unveiling his team's new car on Monday.
"In the end, when you sit in the car it doesn't really matter if you're the only rookie or not," the 20-year-old Swiss told reporters.
"I just try to concentrate as best as possible on my job, and that's it. You just need to relax and think about what you need to do.
"If the car is fast we want to achieve something good," he said of his aims for the new season starting in Australia on March 29.
"But the objective is to fight against my team mate, to prove myself during the whole season so that I can arrive at the end and be happy with what I did."
Buemi replaces German race-winner Sebastian Vettel alongside France's Sebastian Bourdais at the Ferrari-powered team and has probably the toughest task of any driver.
Formula One has introduced major changes, with slick tyres replacing the former grooved ones and new systems and aerodynamics.
At the same time, testing is banned during the season as part of wide-ranging cost-cutting measures pushed through in response to the credit crunch.
The late introduction of the STR04, with Toro Rosso the last out along with the former Honda team now renamed Brawn GP, also means Buemi has only a handful of days to get used to it.
The Swiss, who must wait until Wednesday to get behind the wheel, has tested extensively in last year's car since November and was previously the Red Bull test and reserve driver.
"I did quite a lot, but it's never enough," he said, recognising that it would have been easier for him if the rules had remained constant.
"But I would say I feel quite good at the moment. We need to wait for the new car, we need to see what we can do, and I am really looking forward to being in the car on Wednesday and Thursday. Right now I feel quite confident.
"Melbourne will come fast. We have the end of this week, and then another week, and that's it. So I am really looking forward to being in the car."
Buemi is the first Swiss Formula One driver since Jean-Denis Deletraz in 1995, who failed to score a point in three appearances.
Compatriot Clay Regazzoni won five races in the 1970s, and Jo Siffert before him, while Marc Surer was familiar to fans in the 1980s.
"I feel quite proud. There are many drivers in Switzerland who tried to get to F1 and it is really difficult, you don't get very much support from the people there," said Buemi.
